Merida is a wonderful Action Princess

I felt inspired today, so I was looking back on what I've written about before and realized I never posted my thesis paper from the Women in Art course I took last year. With Merida about to make her debut on Once Upon a Time, now seems a good opportunity to remember where she came from! Some may also remember my post on female characters in Disney/Pixar films from a few years back, too.

Archetypes of Female Representation:

Merida from Disney-Pixar’s Brave

Back in the summer of 2012, I was watching an episode of the comedy show, The Colbert Report, in which the host, Stephen Colbert, called out critics of Pixar’s latest movie, Brave, for complaining that the children’s film was about a lesbian princess. Many news magazines and entertainment blogs were writing about it, speculating that a strong, independent female who wants to fight like one of the boys and isn’t interested in marriage can't be anything other than gay. It was incredibly bizarre to witness the internet and news media explode over this issue of a fictional character’s sexual orientation, and I couldn’t help but compare the ongoing debate to other times when a female warrior equated lesbianism, such as in the television show Xena: Warrior Princess (Stein). It all seemed rather silly to me, because it shouldn’t matter if a female is gay or not, she should be allowed to be a warrior and decide if she is ready for romance or not! Plus, this film was an animated fantasy set in a quasi-historical time period, it’s adherence to realism is very tenuous. Overall, I feel the debate over Merida from Pixar’s Brave highlighted once again how very few mainstream children’s films star females as a heroic lead, and what kind of message this situation sends not only to young girls, but young boys as well. The biggest contradiction, though, is that after the critical and commercial success of Brave, the Disney Company followed the pattern of “feminizing” the character of Merida for use in the Disney Princess product line (Fig. 1).

Fig 1 Disney Princess Merida Redesign (Morrisey)

Many people already have issues with the generic sparkly format that the characters in the Disney Princess brand has, which appear in things ranging from computer apps to outfits, toys, and other products. Taking a female character that was already presented as the opposite of the standard Disney fairy tale princess fare and then making her more girly struck a lot of nerves, to the point that a Change.org petition took place to keep the remade Merida off of merchandise sold under the Disney Princess brand (A Mighty Girl). The public outcry was enough for Disney to pull the redesign from its Disney Princess website, but the image was still in use on the range of Disney Princess products developed for sale (Sperling). Exclusion, inferiority, and objectification were recurring themes in the textual readings for this course, so a study of a movie that attempted a different perspective on femininity that then changed its heroic character for commercial sale is appropriate for the larger issues of entrenched sexism in Western culture.

First, some history on Pixar movie studios and the Disney Princess brand. Pixar as a movie studio has been associated with Disney since the agreement to make and distribute a computer-animated movie in 1991, which would then become the 1995 hit film Toy Story (Nevius). The studio became wholly a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, and therefore has to adhere to the same policies in its creative process and marketing as other animated Disney films. The Disney Princess brand was conceived in the late 1990s and launched in the early 2000s (Orenstein). The brand currently includes the characters Snow White from her film, Cinderella from her movie, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Jasmine from Aladdin, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, Rapunzel from Tangled, and also Pocahontas and Mulan from their films. The latter two characters aren’t as frequently featured on Disney Princess products as the rest of the others, but Disney’s issues with race are another essay entirely (Johnson). One primary issue people have with these redesigns is that they aren’t always in keeping with the message from the films. Mulan, for example, is like Merida in that her interests are in physical activities normally popular with men, and she is not overly concerned with maintaining an image of the popularized ideal of femininity such as wearing makeup or pretty dresses. One could even argue that wearing the dress and makeup for her matchmaker appointment made her miserable, while the garb of a warrior was liberating (Orenstein). With these redesigned Disney Princess characters, the ultimate message is that these characters have found happiness in a restrictive definition of femininity, and so the nonstop Disney marketing of this brand that young children are subjected to on a daily basis begins to act as a real-world sequel to the films themselves (Bartyzel). According to the Disney Consumer Products division that handles the Disney Princess brand, their intention behind these products is clear:

Disney Princess stories are timeless and classic and appeal to girls and women of all ages. As women grow up with the Disney Princess characters, they are inspired by their stories, personalities and inner qualities and pass along their love for these heroines to their own daughters.

 Individual princesses have been part of Disney since Snow White first graced the screen in 1937. In 2000, Disney Consumer Products brought all of Disney's beloved heroines – Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White – together in a collection of fantasy-based girls' entertainment and products called the Disney Princess brand. (Liz Virji)

 Each of the characters are changed from their original film depiction to a version that has more feminized model proportions. Physically they all have tinier waists, more makeup, neatly styled hair, and sparkly outfits, while also sporting a more coy, and perhaps sexy personality to go along with their new fashions (Appendix A). While there are positive traits in the Disney Princess as characters when in their own movies, there is plenty of criticism about their roles in the story and their symbolism. In terms of female representation, the earliest films, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, are very classic examples of the idea of a damsel in distress princess. The lady in question takes on a passive role, waiting for the prince or worthy man to save her, or else perform the tasks necessary to prove worthy of her hand in marriage. Cinderella isn't exactly the same, but there is still that moment near the end of the film where the female lead needs others, usually male, to rescue her. This pattern didn't change until the 1990s with the release of films like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, and Mulan (Barytzel). All these women in the later releases were more aggressive in personality and action in their respective stories, but still displayed a grace and standard of beauty common in many Disney female characters. Therefore when Brave was released, it was refreshing to see a fairy tale princess who differed from the Disney pattern seen thus far. Merida looks and acts like a teenage girl. She’s rebellious, has a short temper, and, rarest of all, is an accomplished athlete. Her physical appearance reflects this personality, with a simple dress, childlike physique, and wild curly hair that she rarely tries to tame. Much of the initial conflict in the film is due to Merida’s mother wanting her to be more feminine.

            The general plot of Brave follows Merida and her mother, Queen Elinor, as the audience is shown how their relationship deteriorated once Merida grew into her teenage years. Some of the opening scenes show how Merida loves horse riding, archery, and generally enjoying the outdoors. Later on she is even personally cleaning her horse’s stall! In the mind of her mother, though, Merida should focus on the duties, expectations, and responsibilities of being a princess, as well as being more ladylike: study poetry, geography, music, and history, while displaying manners, cleanliness, and modesty. Queen Elinor fulfills a classic role for queens in literature: she is the calm voice among wild warrior men, the diplomat, and the keeper of her people’s myths and history. Merida’s father is much more laidback and willing to encourage his daughter’s preferred hobbies, as he is both visually and actively a warrior king. It is interesting to see a medieval period piece where both male and female rulers are shown to be true equals. Both king and queen in this world are expected to rule together and take on the political responsibilities of running the kingdom, so even though Merida is female, she is still next in line for the throne as the eldest child.

Back to the plot: when the time comes for suitors from the other three clans to be presented for Merida’s marriage, the two women butt heads. Merida still treasures her independence and it hasn’t even occurred to her to consider romance, much less a marriage. The queen is focused on the tradition of a marriage to bind the four clans through kinship and political alliance, and is bewildered that her daughter will ignore everything she has been educating and preparing her for all this time. There is even a myth told in the film that a former kingdom fell into ruin when the king’s sons broke the bonds of kinship, underlying the overall message of this film that family is important. To put off the marriage, Merida sets up an archery challenge and competes for her own hand, beating the three suitors astoundingly. Her mother is furious, and afraid war will break out between the four clans. In the fight that ensues between the two women, the queen’s tapestry she has been working on since Merida was young is torn by Merida’s sword, and the queen then throws Merida’s bow into the fire. Devastated, Merida rides off in tears, and comes upon a witch way out in the wilderness. Buying a spell, Merida returns home, only to have the result turn the queen into a bear. Merida and the queen must then work together to break the spell. There is an added threat that the queen will lose her mind and become a real bear within two days’ time. What follows are some beautiful montage scenes of the mother and daughter working together to survive in the wild. Being much more of a civilized lady, the queen is at a disadvantage to care for herself while still under her human personality without Merida’s help. At one point they even find the ancient kingdom from Queen Elinor's story, and awaken a demon bear that nearly kills Merida. They run back to the kingdom in a narrow escape, and are faced with the task of figuring out how to break the curse on the queen.

At this point in the movie there are two main sources of conflict besides the threat of the queen becoming a wild animal: The queen is in danger of being mistaken for a real bear and killed by the king, and the visiting clans will go to war if a suitor for Merida is not chosen. It is in working together that the two women resolve both these conflicts. In order to reach a resolution Merida has to negotiate with the clans in an echo of an earlier scene where her mother wandered into the chaos of males fighting to calmly put an end to the fight. It is decided in a very well-done scene where the princess acts as her mother's voice that Merida will choose a husband when she is ready, thus buying more time for the other main conflict. For the climax, there is an intense battle with the humans chasing after the queen, still believing her to be a dangerous bear. Merida stands up to her father, the favorite parent, and defends her mother from the humans. Then the demon bear shows up. The queen defends her daughter and the other humans from the demon bear, finally killing it. Both women then reconcile, and the queen is restored.

One of my biggest criticisms in recent years when it comes to Pixar and its films is their seeming inability to break away from the two males "let's be buddies" plot line, which originated with Toy Story. Even with fourteen films released at the time of this writing, the company seems to have difficulty portraying a female character as anything other than a motherly nurturer or as sexual enticement to the male characters, at least until Brave. Disney isn’t much better. Females in all their movies tend to follow a pattern of being damsels in distress, mothers, or seductive femme fatales, with very little deviation in 70 years of theatrical film releases. As for princess culture — as promoted by the Disney Princess brand — there are many scholars and internet websites worried about the damage such imagery can do to young girls. While sociological studies and other scholarship does not conclusively prove that playing princess directly damages girls’ self-esteem or dampens other aspirations, there is statistical evidence that young women who hold the most conventionally feminine beliefs — avoiding conflict and being perpetually nice and pretty — are more likely to be depressed and less likely to use contraception (Orenstein). There are also surveys showing an overall decline in girls’ participation in sports and other vigorous activity between middle and high school, the reasoning being that athletics is unfeminine (Orenstein). While there is nothing inherently wrong with makeup or pretty dresses, the example that the Disney Princess brand sets is that there is only one way to be female. Merida was created to be opposed to that mindset, and to redesign her character to match the stylistic choices of the Disney Princess line was for many, a betrayal. Merida’s creator, Brenda Chapman, writes along these lines in her personal blog, describing how Merida was created for her daughter, to be an individual, and an alternative choice of how to be female. As she says in a post in support of the A Mighty Girl Change.org petition, “The message Disney sends to the public in changing Merida is that she is not good enough the way she is. In doing that, they are making the same statement to all the young girls out there” (brenda-chapman.com).

With more public support in favor of creating positive change, there may still be a chance that corporations like The Walt Disney Company will take a chance and allow for more diverse choices in what it means to be feminine. The Disney Princess brand is only one aspect of the overall problem that girls face while growing up in Western culture. The dissonance between what girls are told they can be and what they are shown they should be is still quite wide. Merida is not the first female character to be glamorized for commercial purposes, and she certainly won’t be the last. However, with images like the pretty princess holding a bow and arrow in the Disney Princess online shop, I think society is making progress (Fig. 2).

Figure 2 Disney Princess Store Banner

  

Works Cited

A Mighty Girl. “Disney: Say No to the Merida Makeover, Keep Our Hero Brave!” Change.org.

Web. 19 January, 2014.

Brave. Dir. Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman. Disney Pixar Animation Studios, 2012. Blu-Ray + DVD. 24 January, 2014.

Bartyzel, Monika. “Girls on Film: The real problem with the Disney Princess brand.” The Week. 17 May, 2013. Web. 22 January, 2014.

C. W. Nevius. SFGate. “Pixar tells story behind 'Toy Story'.” August 23, 2005. Web. 22 January, 2014.

Chapman, Brenda. “Staying True to Merida: Why This Fight Matters.” Brenda Chapman (blog). May 24, 2013. Web.

Colbert, Stephen. The Colbert Report. “Pixar’s Gay Agenda.” 26 June, 2012.  Web. 20 January, 2014.

Johnson, Matthew. “The Little Princess Syndrome: When Our Daughters Act Out Fairytales.” Natural Life Magazine. Web. 22 January, 2014.

Morrissey, Tracie Egan. Jezebel. “Disney PullsSexy Merida Makeover After Public Backlash.” 15 May, 2013. Web. 24 January, 2014.

Orenstein, Peggy. “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?” New York Times. 24 December, 2006. Web. 22 January, 2014.

Virji, Liz. Disney Consumer Products. Web. 21 January, 2014.

Sperling, Nicole. “Disney's sexier, skinnier Merida to stay, despite protests.” Los Angeles Times. 15 May, 2013. Web. 17 January, 2014.

Stein, Atara. “Xena: Warrior Princess, The Lesbian Gaze, AndThe Construction Of A Feminist Heroine.” Whoosh: IAXS project #007. 1998.  Web. 19 January, 2014.

Appendix A

Greb, Andrea.  “DisneyPrincess Makeovers – When Being The Fairest Of Them All Isn't Enough.” Hellogiggles.com. 13 May, 2013. Web. 24 January, 2014.

Selected Discussions from ART 270

"Discussion" is actually a misnomer, since very few of the assignments from this art history class required response to other people's posts. Still, the course Women in Art was quite enjoyable, but I wouldn't recommend taking a 22 day college course meant to be spread out over 15 weeks. It suffers from having to focus on nothing else but the material, making it very hard for much of it to sink in and be savored. Thought if nothing else, the course was great for learning more about the long history of exclusion, objectification, and outright abuse of women artists in Western culture, and I don't regret taking it. One of my final projects is on medieval illuminated manuscripts and the other is writing a thesis paper on the movie Brave. I got high marks on many of my discussions, so since art, criticism, and feminism are things I like writing about, well, it seems appropriate to share them!

Fair warning: Long post is long, very heavy with topics of female representation, male gaze, and art terminology. Also, trigger warning for mentions of rape.

So if you're ready, click behind the jump to read about my exciting pedagogy!

Strange Subtext

I rented Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters from Redbox, since they were kind enough to offer me a coupon for a free 1-night rental. My older brother's comment when I showed him was, "It's so weird they had diabetes back then."

If, like him, you're confused about why a remake of a 19th-century fairytale with steampunk elements would mention the "sugar sickness," I would counter with why one would expect realism from a gothic-horror fantasy film. Besides, diabetes has been around for ages.

The movie is fun, campy terrible and overly violent, as anything with gatling guns, multi-shot revolving crossbows, and pull-string action electric shockers is bound to be at least B-movie levels of awful in the way Van Helsing was. However, I think because of all the recent news regarding the Microsoft rape joke controversy and sexual harassment at E3, the pro-rape seduction guide that was funded on Kickstarter (and then pulled), and the other nasty mysogynistic news articles from around the internet, I was very in tune with the film's representation of women, and noticed some problematic aspects in it.

*Spoilers*

Gender Issues in Children's Films

First off, let's all give a grand cheer that I finished my six-week internship at the hospital without major incident, "Hurrah!"

Secondly, the inspiration for this blog came from watching the Colbert Report and hearing how Pixar's latest movie, Brave, might possibly be about a lesbian princess. Go ahead and try a web search, apparently it's all over news magazines and entertainment blogs because a few authors speculated a strong, independent female who wants to fight like one of the boys can't be anything other than gay. Without actually wading into that fray myself, I, along with my coworker, instead went to the Disney filmography, including Pixar's films, and went through each major theatrical release that we've seen to analyze that movie for strong female characters. I lucked out with memories of the movies, as I have a five-year-old girl living with me who watches them constantly. Granting a point for each film with a strong female character, we came up with about 17 points for over 70 years worth of Disney movies, including the live action ones. Not very encouraging.

One of my biggest criticisms in recent years when it comes to Pixar, is their seeming inability to break away from the "let's be buddies" plot line, a la Toy Story, wherein they also seem to have difficulty portraying a female character as anything other than a motherly nurturer or sexual enticement to the male characters. Disney is hardly much better as females tend to be damsels in distress or sexy femme fatales. So if Brave is in fact, breaking the pattern by having a strong female lead wherein romantic interest isn't the entire point of her existence nor is it awkwardly placed (Ratatouille I'm looking at you) then by all means, I will withhold my usual cynicism. (I am actually quite fond of many Disney/Pixar works, so this article is by no means flames and hatred, save that for the summer barbeques).

For brevity's sake, I stuck to those full-length feature films that were either entirely or partly animated for this blog entry, going into a bit more detail now that I had better access to Wikipedia and Google. However, before we wade into such an endeavor, it might help to define what I'm looking for. The feminine identity is a complicated beast, and what girls look for in a story is often quite different than what a boy would want, and Mr. Neil Gaiman talks about gendered stories quite nicely in this essay. What I tend to see in Female-oriented stories are an emphasis on relationships, whether with a lover, family, or friends; whereas male-oriented tales have a specific goal the character wants to achieve, whether it's treasure, acknowledgement, or a love interest. What is often valued in classic folk lore in many cultures are women operating in the spheres of hearth and nursery, thus exalting traits that would make a woman an ideal wife and mother. It is important to point out though, that much of Disney's volume of work (and subsequently, DreamWorks, Pixar, and so forth) are based on these folk tales, and as such, follow those cultural and historical patterns that many critics of today see: that of sexism, racism, and so forth, especially from early cultural works. Joseph Campbell was helpful enough to undertake a study of the breadth of existing mythological sources for patterns that he summarized using the example of the hero's narrative and then utilized Jungian psychology to point out character archetypes that can be used for most any work of literature. Also helpful for this scholar was finding that many internet bloggers already talk about Campbell's archetypes and thus make handy quick references, including one on adapting the mythic frame to stories about female heroes.

There are a wide range, often narrowed down to eight, roles that characters, whether male or female, can occupy in any given story. I made extensive use of this blog's descriptions, although feel free to wander around tvtropes.com or elsewhere on the internet if you want even more detail. For the role of heroines, we have the BOSS (leadership role), the SEDUCTRESS (sexy girl), the SPUNKY KID (attitude), the FREE SPIRIT (hippie or oddball), the WAIF (damsel in distress), the LIBRARIAN (clean-cut intellectual), the CRUSADER (warrior woman), and the NURTURER (mommy or caretaker). In order to give a Disney/Pixar film a point for strong female characters, it had to meet certain criteria:
1) Female characters, or characters that have feminine traits.
2) Being of an archetype other than SEDUCTRESS, WAIF, or NURTURER, since those are the most common according to many critics.
3) If occupying SEDUCTRESS, WAIF or NURTURER, at least have other characteristics to give her an independent identity, instead of exhibiting just passivity or sexual appeal as in classic literature, e.g. the sexy lamp test.
4) If occupying SPUNKY KID, must be more than an adorable mascot, since that also appears to be common.

This entry took on way more detail than my original debate went, by the way.
ONWARD!
1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: If you want an iconic example of the WAIF, Snow White is it. I mean, not only is her theme song "Someday My Prince Will Come," but in reaction to her stepmother wanting to kill her for being younger and prettier, she runs away and keeps house for seven bachelors, along with her cute little animal friends. Plus, the interactions between Snow White and the dwarves scream NURTURER. The wicked stepmother is more of a BOSS archetype, seeing as how she wants her own way, even if she has to kill to get it.

1940 Pinocchio: The only female character in this movie is the Blue Fairy, who really isn't much other than NURTURER, she just appears sometimes and gives the title character life/advice/scolding.

1940 Fantasia: Hard to classify what is essentially an arts film, but after careful thinking, "The Pastoral Symphony" and "Dance of the Hours" are the only parts with both plot AND female characters. Both of these performances are deeply entrenched in sexual tension. There are probably scholars out there screaming about the centaur scenes.

1941 Dumbo: Dumbo's mom, who is a textbook NURTURER, is still one fierce mama who is willing to crush anyone hurting her baby. Which is easy, being a ginormous elephant. +1 for tossing hay and spanking troublemakers. Also my family would knock some heads if anyone badmouths "Baby Mine."

1942 Bambi: Bambi's mom, NURTURER. Also Faline, Bambi's eventual mate, also a NURTURER, although she might also be somewhat WAIF.

1943-46 Saludos Amigos/The Three Caballeros: What women do appear in these anthologies of short films are often pretty girls that get chased around by the males, which is really weird when the males are cartoon birds.

1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad: What few females appear are either initially SEDUCTRESS or NURTURER.

1950 Cinderella: Another iconic WAIF, although I give Cinderella credit for having the guts to defy her stepmother and go to the ball anyway (with a little help). The stepmother, by the way, makes for a good CRUSADER/BOSS, since she is dedicated to pushing her own daughter's goals over Cinderella's. The stepsisters don't offer much to the story other than to illustrate how annoying and miserable Cinderella's life is, although the sequels kind of expand on one of the sister's personalities. +1 for being sort of different

1951 Alice in Wonderland: Alice is a SPUNKY KID, filled with moxie and wanting things her own way until she wanders into a world that gives her exactly what she wants. After realizing that insanity is best served in small doses, she returns to reality and her NURTURER sister. However, Alice is not a very active role in her story, merely following along from place to place and getting very confused by everything. The Queen of Hearts is a BOSS, as characterized by punishing those who defy her with beheading. +1 to the Queen lest she decides to off more heads.

1952 Peter Pan: The whole reason for bringing Wendy to Neverland is to be mother to the Lost Boys, which is keeping house, therefore, NURTURER. Tinker Bell is very much a SEDUCTRESS/SPUNKY KID, and when Peter ignores her in favor of Wendy, she responds by trying to get the Lost Boys to kill Wendy, and when that failed, bargaining with Captain Hook, which almost kills Peter. Tiger Lily and the Mermaids, while brief, are part of the lure of Neverland as a haven for boys with low impulse control, plus can be considered to be somewhat sexual in their presentation. +1 for Tinker Bell.

1955 Lady and the Tramp: I would argue Lady was something of a FREE SPIRIT until the baby arrived, and that conflict drove her to meet Tramp, wherein she becomes more WAIF-like.

1959 Sleeping Beauty: By now, Disney has firmly developed princesses who have cute animal minions, sing perfect sopranos, and are willing to wait for their prince to sweep them off their feet. WAIF Aurora is balanced by the wicked Sorceress, a CRUSADER, who nearly wins the day and turns into a dragon. The three fairies are NURTURERS, although they could be argued to be FREE SPIRITS as well. +1 for awesome dragon ladies!

1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians: Mama Dalmatian Perdita and human wife Anita both occupy the NURTURER role. Cruella De Vil is very much a CRUSADER in her pursuit of being fashionable, however she is only a side character and a villain to boot. +1 for fashion, dahling.

1963 The Sword in the Stone: The only significant female is the witch Merlin fights with, I'll place her under evil FREE SPIRIT. Although powerful, she is made to appear ugly and loses to poor hygiene and immune development, plus there was that weird sexual tension moment. +1 perhaps?

1964 Mary Poppins: NURTURER, although an argument can be made for Mary Poppins occupying the FREE SPIRIT archetype as well. Jane Banks, while something of a SPUNKY KID, comes off as being little more than the de facto female child to the duo of children in the story. Being of British origin, the other women in the film are servants, housewives, or strangers on the street.

1967 The Jungle Book: The only females of significance in this movie are the female wolf in the beginning that raises Mowgli, a NURTURER, and the human girl that serves as the lure for Mowgli leaving the jungle and joining civilization. The girl sings a song of domesticity as she fetches water and flutters her eyelashes, so clearly this is a SEDUCTRESS, if anything.

1970 The Aristocats: Duchess is a NURTURER, although she takes on aspects of WAIF and SEDUCTRESS when interacting with O'Malley. Madame Adelaide is a NURTURER, her role in the story is amusing as the crazy old cat-lady, but still not very uncommon.

1971 Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Miss Price is a FREE SPIRIT, and it's rather awesome she uses her magic to help out the war effort during WWII. Carrie Rawlins doesn't have much point other than to be a girl amongst the boys that I can see. +1 for summoning magical walking armor!

1973 Robin Hood: Maid Marian may be a WAIF and a silly romantic, but she does make some effort during the festival fight to help out. Her nursemaid, Lady Kluck, though, is much more of a badass CRUSADER/NURTURER combo. The other females in the film are firmly in NURTURER mode. +1 for side characters being more awesome than the mains.

1977 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The only female in the entire Winnie the Pooh series is Kanga, who is definitely a NURTURER.

1977 The Rescuers: Miss Bianca is a very competent agent, but she is still more of a NURTURER than anything else, what with guiding a bumbling Bernard on their mission. Penny is something of a WAIF/SPUNKY KID, but I feel the WAIF tendencies are more likely due to age. Madame Medusa is a BOSS, seeing how she is very controlling with her minions. +1 for alligator skiing.

1977 Pete's Dragon: Nora is a NURTURER, taking care of Pete and her father. Lena Gogan doesn't have much screen time, but she would be the antagonistic version of NURTURER.

1981 The Fox and the Hound: We have Big Mama owl, a NURTURER, Widow Tweed, also a NURTURER, and finally Vixey, something of a WAIF/SEDUCTRESS.

1983 The Black Cauldron: Princess Eilonwy is a SPUNKY KID, as she not only has magic and cleverness, but is willing to use it to fight. Technically there is also Hen Wen, who would be more of a FREE SPIRIT with the attitude she displays towards Taran. Additional females include the fairies and the witches, who operate as comic-relief FREE SPIRITs and means to move the plot onward. +1 for magical princesses.

1986 The Great Mouse Detective: Olivia Flaversham is a textbook SPUNKY KID, actively searching for someone to help her find her father, and taking part in the rescue efforts as well. We also have the mouse version of Queen Victoria, who is always a BOSS woman with attitude. Felicia, Ratigan's pet cat, is an awesome punishment mechanism, for all that she doesn't have much of a speaking role. +1 for queens and cats.

1988 Oliver & Company: This version of Oliver Twist has Rita the Saluki, a NURTURER, who helps to look after Oliver; Jenny Foxworth, the kind young rich girl who ends up adopting him, is most fitting under WAIF, although she does go out to rescue Oliver on her own; and finally Georgette the spoiled poodle, who best fits the SEDUCTRESS archetype.

1989 The Little Mermaid: Ariel, for all she is a spoiled teenager, is more a FREE SPIRIT than a WAIF, as she is willing to go after her man even with certain obstacles like biological differences in the way. Ursula is a BOSS who was denied what she feels she was entitled to, thus the trickery and vengeance. The servant women, while having their own parts in the movie, still only fill the role of a means of moving the plot forward and providing comedy relief. Still, the head maid is someone I wouldn't want to cross, as Chef Louie thoroughly knows. +1 for trying something new.

1990 DuckTales: Treasure of the Lost Lamp: The entire run of DuckTales the main females are Mrs. Beakley, the NURTURER housekeeper, and Webby, her granddaughter, the female SPUNKY KID. The movie doesn't even have one of the few female villains.

1990 The Rescuers: Down Under: Miss Bianca is back as the competent agent NURTURER, although this time Bernard's clumsiness is due to love, instead of inexperience. The whole movie is a long running gag of interruptions to Bernard's marriage proposal. Also female in this movie is the goanna who works for the villain McLeach, the nurse mice in Australia, and the driving plot element: the mother golden eagle Marahute, who defaults as NURTURER, protecting her eggs and by extension Cody. There are other female animals in the movie, but they don't have much of a role.

1991 Beauty and the Beast: Belle is a fierce dreamer, and a FREE SPIRIT when compared to the others in her village. She is willing to take an active role in finding her father and then finding love, but the Stockholm Syndrome going on makes me cringe when I think about it too much. Mrs. Potts is the NURTURER element Disney needs to have around, and there is also the SEDUCTRESS in the form of the head maid. The Enchantress, while brief, could also be a NURTURER, albeit of the tough love sort. +1 for liking libraries.

1992 Aladdin: Jasmine is the first Disney princess to have CRUSADER tendencies, as not only does she go her own way, but will even back down and find someone who can help her get what she wants through diplomatic means. Even when faced with the prospect that her beloved is executed, she goes to the sultan to deal with Jafar, knowing she doesn't yet have the power to take him down. I also love how in the third movie she is right in the fray punching the men who have disrupted her wedding. The other mentionable females in this movie are the village girls, who are usually in SEDUCTRESS mode, and their mothers, who are usually in mama bear NURTURER mode. Not bad for a misrepresentation of Middle Eastern Muslim culture. +1 for being kickass with a pet tiger.

1994 The Lion King: Main female is Nala, a CRUSADER/SPUNKY KID who as a child is Simba's equal, and as an adult, is one of the few in the lion kingdom to still hold hope for Simba being alive, supports Simba's return, and ends up as queen of the lions, a much more significant role than king of the lions (thank you Animal Planet). Also we have the other lionesses, all CRUSADER/NURTURERS, and Shenzi the hyena, definitely a BOSS who thought Scar was a partner if not an equal. +1 for dominant female hunters, "She-Is-Fiercer."

1995 A Goofy Movie: The only significant female is Roxanne, Max's love interest. Not really a WAIF or SEDUCTRESS, I'd argue she's more of a NURTURER considering the way she interacts with her friends. The only other female character with vocals is Roxanne's friend with the braces and that large gutsy lady in the Powerline concert scene. Something that bothered me growing up about this movie, based as it is on the Disney tv series Goof Troop, is whatever happened to Pete's wife? Also, nothing is ever really mentioned about what happened to Max's mom, I always assumed she had died when Max was younger.

1995 Pocahontas: The daughter of Chief Powhatan is a FREE SPIRIT who wants to run around with nature, unwilling to settle for Kocoum, a warrior she feels is too serious. She ultimately ends up stopping a violent conflict with the English settlers by bodily protecting John Smith, something of a male love interest in the film. Also female is Grandmother Willow, a sage NURTURER, and Pocahontas' best friend Nakoma, more of a WAIF. The film may be a gross caricature of Native Americans and the violent early history of English settlement, but it's a decent attempt considering Disney (how far we have come since Songs of the South). +1 for trying and still failing.

1995 Toy Story: The quintessential buddy movie. We have Bo Peep, a NURTURER among the toys, Andy's mom, obviously a NURTURER as well, Hannah Phillips, who is something of a WAIF under her brother's sociopathic tendencies, and Andy's baby sister, who is there to be cute.

1996 James and the Giant Peach: There are the evil aunts, both BOSSES, the Ladybug, a NURTURER, the Spider, a SEDUCTRESS/NURTURER, and the Glowworm, a daft old lady for comedy relief.

1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame: The only significant female is Esmeralda, definitely a FREE SPIRIT, and a fierce protector of anyone she cares about. Also, was anyone else expecting her to romantically love Quasimodo instead of Phoebus? +1 for God Help the Outcasts.

1997 Hercules: Megara is equal parts SEDUCTRESS/SPUNKY KID, she is not afraid to fight for what she wants, but disguises a lot of hurt and insecurity with a sharp sarcastic wit. I would even argue for Meg being somewhat LIBRARIAN, as she clearly has some intellect to use in helping Hades with his conniving, but she holds herself as prim, proper, and untouchable because of a past betrayal. Also in this movie we have the amazing Gospel diva Muses who are FREE SPIRITS, Hera and Alcmene, both NURTURERS in the mother role, and the Fates, who are mostly BOSS, considering they already know how things will turn out, yet try to get their way anyhow. +1 for being fun despite horribly depicting Greek myths.

1998 Mulan: Our heroine starts out as a SPUNKY KID/FREE SPIRIT, but when the health of her father is threatened by the emperor's draft, she boldly takes off in true CRUSADER fashion to join the army in her father's place, becoming one of the best warriors. She also manages to save China from a Hun invasion. We also have Mulan's mother and grandmother, both in NURTURER roles, although grandmother does so in more crazy old lady fashion. +1 for warrior women.

1998 A Bug's Life: There is Princess Atta, a BOSS in training, seeing how she is constantly stressed about doing things properly. Then there is the current Queen, something of a BOSS/NURTURER, and Dot, the SPUNKY KID mascot for the movie. In the circus troupe, we have Rosie, a NURTURER black widow, and Gypsy, a NURTURER gypsy moth. +1 for flying queens.

1999 Tarzan: Jane is every inch a proper Victorian lady, and I'm still amazed she is willing to tolerate the jungle in those outfits. Very much a LIBRARIAN/WAIF, as she continually needs saving from the dangers of the jungle, yet has an amazing intellect that is actually appreciated! Her attitude and spunkiness is much better developed in the tv series. She even saves a city of mystical jaguar people. Then we have Kala, Tarzan's adopted mother, typical NURTURER, and Terk, a sarcastic SPUNKY KID sidekick. +1 for smart ladies who don't know how to dress for jungle expeditions.

1999 Toy Story 2: Besides Bo Peep and the previous female characters, we are introduced to Jesse, the SPUNKY KID reminder of what happens to toys after kids grow up. Is it bad of me I consider her angst better indication of character than her enthusiastic personality? Also there is Mrs. Potato Head, a NURTURER figure, and the Barbies, definite SEDUCTRESSES. +1 for When She Loved Me.

2000 Fantasia 2000: "Rhapsody in Blue" has a spoiled rich female, my best guess would be BOSS. "Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major" has the ballerina, something of a SEDUCTRESS, as she occupies the romantic pursuit of both the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the evil Jack-in-the-Box. "Pomp and Circumstance" has Daisy Duck, in something of a WAIF role, seeing as both Donald and Daisy go through a period of depression when they think the other drowned in the flood. As finale, we get "Firebird Suite" with the spring sprite, a SPUNKY KID who accidentally awakens a destructive Firebird and nearly destroys everything, but is encouraged by her elk friend to bring back Spring. +1
for that finale, wow.

2000 The Emperor's New Groove: There are only three females in this entire movie -- Yzma, the villainous emperor's advisor, a BOSS denied her rightful place as a leader, Chicha, another textbook NURTURER wife and mother, albeit with a sarcastic wit, and finally Chaca, Pacha's little daughter, and obligatory SPUNKY KID. +1 for the wrong lever.

2001 Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Kida is a proper warrior princess, thoroughly a CRUSADER fighting to save her people from extinction. We also have Lt. Helga, the femme fatale SEDUCTRESS of the group, Audrey Ramirez, the SPUNKY KID mechanic, and Packard, a cynical FREE SPIRIT used for comedy relief mostly. +1 for warrior princess who also may be goddesses.

2001 Monsters Inc.: There is Celia, a BOSS of the administrative world, and Mike's love interest, Roz, the raspy BOSS/NURTURER of the clerical department (and other things) always after Mike to do the paperwork properly and Boo, the SPUNKY KID toddler who is the catalyst for the movie's plot. There is also the exasperated monster trainer at the beginning, but she is only there for the setup of the world.

2002 Lilo & Stitch: The character of Lilo wouldn't work if she wasn't a girl, as it is expected for young boys to have odd habits. One of the sassiest SPUNKY KID/FREE SPIRITs in Disney, she is joined by her struggling NURTURER/CRUSADER Nani, a fierce woman willing to fight off aliens to protect her sister. The Grand Council head is also female (I think), and very much a BOSS archetype. Pleakley can count for being female, even though Disney was clearly making trans jokes with the character. Pleakley would best fit under a LIBRARIAN type, as he/she is the "expert" on Earth life, struggles to remain neat and proper in the face of chaos, but wants to break out of tradition by wearing pretty wigs and dresses. +1 for diverse sisters and feminine aliens!

2002 Treasure Planet: Characters who are female include Jim Hawkin's mom, NURTURER, and Captain Amelia, a very capable BOSS. Not bad for a remake of a boys' adventure story . +1 for badass ship captains

2003 Finding Nemo: There's Dory, the ditziest NURTURER so far, and Deb, another somewhat loose screw NURTURER. Other background characters and maybe some of the children at the reef are girls, but it's hard to tell.

2004 The Incredibles: We have Elastigirl, who is NURTURER/CRUSADER, perfect for a superhero turned mom, and her daughter Violet, a shy girl who is WAIF/NURTURER, at least until she gains more confidence in using her powers, then she is just as CRUSADER as her mom. As side characters we have Mirage, SEDUCTRESS, and Kari, a ditzy babysitter NURTURER. Also there is Edna Mode, one of the most badass FREE SPIRIT ladies I've seen. +1 for female superheroes being heroes.

2005 Chicken Little: Abby Mallard plays Chicken Little's best friend and love interest, mostly in a NURTURER role in the movie. There is also Foxy Loxy with her friend Goosey Loosey as the school bullies, somewhat CRUSADER in approach, but at the end Foxy is mind altered to a Southern Belle singer who partners with Runt, becoming more FREE SPIRIT in demeanor as well, though that's played as something horrible to happen to her.

2006 Cars: Sally plays the spunky lawyer girl turned hotel manager who is one of the key characters helping Lightning McQueen see how the pursuit of fame and wealth isn't all it's cracked up to be. In that sense, she is very much in a NURTURER role. Other females in the movie include Flo, the owner of the gas station/diner, and Lizzie, widow of the founder of Radiator Springs. Both would also fit best under a NURTURER archetype.

2007 Ratatouille: Besides the woman whose house at the beginning that provides the backdrop and springboard for the main character to move to Paris, the only other female in this movie is Colette, the only female chef working in the once prestigious restaurant of Gusteau, Remy's cooking idol. Colette is a fierce chef, in NURTURER/CRUSADER mode as she tutors Alfredo Linguini. However, the means in which she is shoved into a romantic relationship with Remy's human puppet Alfredo Linguini was so awkward, I can't help but think it was a last minute addition to the plot.

2007 Enchanted: Giselle starts out as a traditional WAIF, but the whole point of the movie was to turn classic Disney on it's head. She exerts more independence and CRUSADER characteristics as the movie goes on. Then we have Nancy, Robert's then fiancee, who from her brief screen time I would place as a BOSS, and the ending definitely suggests she will be a powerful force in the kingdom of Andalasia. Narissa is a typical evil queen, a BOSS who doesn't want to relinquish power. Robert's little girl, Morgan, is a classic SPUNKY GIRL. +1 for being a different kind of princess.

2008 WALL-E: The two main robots WALL-E and EVE display characteristics of both genders, but only EVE becomes definitively female once the plant (something alive) was taken into her "womb" cavity. EVE is a CRUSADER in her violent tendencies and adherence to her directives, but becomes more of a NURTURER as she tries to help WALL-E after he was damaged by the Axiom's autopilot. The only other significant female is Mary, a human woken out of the video screen trance of the Axiom, and is definitely a NURTURER in that she also wakes up John, and then goes out of her way to save some of the infants on board the Axiom. +1 for feminine robots being warriors.

2008 Bolt: I can't see Penny as anything other than WAIF, seeing as how the driving force of the plot is Bolt's need to protect her. Mittens is something of a NURTURER, as she is constantly trying to convince Bolt that he doesn't actually have superpowers, and her fervent desire to be cared for is an important aspect of her character.

2009 Up: The only females in this movie are Ellie Fredericksen, a NURTURER even after she dies, and Kevin, the prehistoric bird that is the prized goal of the movie's villain. The fact that Kevin is a mama bird seems rather tacked on as extra incentive to protect the animal.

2009 The Princess and the Frog: Tiana is the most recent Disney princess, and doesn't disappoint. She has a dream of running her own business, and in fact, her key flaw is how single-minded she can be, ignoring the things that would enrich her life such as stronger relationships to family and friends. I would argue for her being LIBRARIAN if not SPUNKY KID, until she has to drag around Prince Naveen so he doesn't accidentally get eaten, and so her NURTURER tendencies come out. Charlotte "Lottie" La Bouff, while annoying, is still a sweet girl, and probably best fits the SPUNKY GIRL archetype. Then there's Mama Odie, definitely a BOSS and queen of her domain. +1 for that jazz track.

2010 Toy Story 3: In addition to return characters Jesse, SPUNKY GIRL cowgirl, and Mrs. Potato Head, sassy NURTURER, we also have Barbie added to the Andy's toys gang, something of a ditzy SEDUCTRESS, but she shows a cleverness that adds depth to her Blonde-girl persona. In addition, there is Bonnie, something of a SPUNKY GIRL/FREE SPIRIT, whose toys also include the female triceratops Trixie, the rag doll Dolly, and I think two of the peas in the "Peas-in-a-Pod" are girls. +1 for female toys getting things done.

2010 Tangled: Rapunzel is SPUNKY GIRL and can also be somewhat WAIF, as even though she proves to be very effective in a fight, she still needed the rogue Eugene "Flynn Rider" to guide her out in the world. I do blame her WAIF characteristics on her naivete from being raised in isolation with Mother Gothel, though, who is a very well done evil BOSS/NURTURER. +1 for frying pan weapons.

If there aren't any movies in the list, it's because I didn't see them. I ended up with 30 points by my count (which is probably wrong, I'm terrible with numbers), and may only result because I grew lax with my standards enough to reward points for villains and side characters who have more to their personality than the heroines at times. This decision was because after a while, I had to refer to Wikipedia and IMDB.com entries just to remember who was actually a female character in some of these films. Seeing their pattern for female involvement in a story really doesn't paint Disney or Pixar in a very positive light, considering the contrast to heroines in works by such entities as Studio Ghibli. Yet I'm hoping Brave and future projects will be more willing to show that Disney and Pixar are more embracing of modern sentiments of gender identity, and can be successful. However it's going to take a lot to overcome the past few thousand years of ingrained human behavior and Western social expectations.